The present invention relates to a support for an excavation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a support for use in supporting a wall of an excavation.
When preparing a foundation for a building and in many other scenarios such as road works, utility repairs or the like, excavation of trenches is often required. Trenches are usually formed by digging out soil from the ground to a specific depth and width to form a channel along the ground. Diggers or excavators are often used to do this. Trenches can also be dug out manually by a worker.
The surface above and around the excavated trench area is often unstable and the walls of the trench are therefore susceptible to collapsing or caving in. This is a particular issue during or after heavy rain or other similar extreme environmental conditions. Therefore the trench can be a hazard to a worker within the trench or standing beside or within a vicinity of the trench. Excavation work must be carefully planned and supervised to prevent such accidents.
Furthermore, the weight of machinery such as a digger travelling along the trench could cause the walls of the trench to collapse and the digger could fall into the trench thereby causing damage to the digger as well as being hazardous to the digger operator and those in close proximity to the digger.
It is also difficult to see trenches due to their formation in the ground with no visible markers. Therefore, a person walking in the vicinity of the trench may not see the trench and could fall into it.
A need therefore exists to alleviate some of the abovementioned problems.